3,928 Matching Annotations
  1. Jul 2020
    1. The underlying lesson of the basics was about the social order and its sources of authority, a lesson which was appropriate for a society which expected its workers to be passively disciplined

      This type of learning was designed for the white student to learn where it fell on the social ladder. Were they heirs to the manufacturing empire, if so they would continue learning underneath their millionaire dad or granddad? Or would they go to work in the factory just a soon as they hit working age?

    2. The gap between the rich and the poor is growing, and even when the poor sometimes become slightly less poor, it is rarely because education has improved.

      This has been shown ten fold with the recent pandemic.

    3. There is no dispute, however, that education provides access to material resources in the form of better paid employment; that it affords an enhanced capacity to participate in civic life; that it promises personal growth.

      For me and my world view, education is power. It is something no one can take away from you. If you can read and more importantly read and comprehend, then no one should be able to take advantage of you.

    1. In computer science, read/write is defined as media that is capable of being displayed (read) and modified (write). In a literacy context, the reader/writer nature of online information could be viewed as a means to allow individuals to quickly and efficiently comprehend and construct online informatio

      Writing is the most difficult learning domain for ELs. Allowing students to use multimodal text may help increase writing proficiency sooner.

    1. Multimodality can be used to build inventories of the semiotic resources, organizing principles, and cultural references that modes make available to people in particular places and times: the actions, materials and artifacts people communicate with.

      Multimodalities drive a meaning home. It is the icing on the cake for ORC.

    2. multimodality assumes that representation and communication always draw on a multiplicity of modes, all of which contribute to meaning. It focuses on analyzing and describing the full repertoire of meaning-making resources that people use (visual, spoken, gestural, written, three-dimensional, and others, depending on the domain of representation) in different contexts, and on developing means that show how these are organized to make meaning.

      Meaning comes from any picture, video clip, or text. Visual representations of text can drive meaning home, especially for visual learners.

    1. Internet reciprocal teaching builds on the same principles; however, the teacher first instructs students in a whole-class setting with each person constructing his or her own text while building the online reading comprehension strategies of questioning, locating, evaluating, synthesizing, and communicating.

      Good explanation on the details on internet reciprocal teaching

    2. Internet Reciprocal Teaching Promotes the Five CsCreativity: Students use divergent-thinking skills to generate their own questions and keywords for online searches. Their final projects require them to creatively express their own point of view. Communication: Students share what they learn as they work in small groups and with the whole class. They communicate with a wider audience by posting on a class blog. Collaboration: Students create collaborative knowledge through Internet inquiry and social interactions. They comment on one another's work using technologies such as VoiceThread and support one another through instant messaging. Critical Thinking: When using the Internet, students build the text they read, choosing which links to follow and which to ignore. The nonlinear nature of online reading helps support critical thinking. Students also learn to question the perspective and bias of online sources. Comprehension: Students learn important online reading skills, such as how to distinguish news articles from blog posts and editorials. They carefully read texts they encounter online to understand and evaluate different perspectives.

      The 5 C's.

    3. By creating a curriculum that allows for problem-based inquiry learning, high-level discussion, and collaboration. One approach, Internet reciprocal teaching, involves problem-based tasks in which readers create their own text. This provides students a path for navigating the Cs of change

      Internet reciprocal teaching can help with literacy on the web

    4. Students today must be prepared to navigate the new "Cs of change" that the 21st century has brought us. These Cs include such skills as creativity, communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and comprehension. In addition, the rise of the Internet means that teachers must shift how they teach reading and writing

      the Cs of change are essential when comprehending skills. teachers today need to recognize that

    5. Deliberately teaching online reading and research skills is one way to keep students from foundering on their way to the future.

      Students need these skills to be successful in their life

    6. Making meaning during online reading requires students to combine multiple streams of information from text, video, and audio sources.

      this gives students different ways of taking in and ultimately retaining information.

    7. Making meaning during online reading requires students to combine multiple streams of information from text, video, and audio sources.

      This is something I have attempted to do in my lessons. I incorporate text, visuals, and quick video clips to keep students' attention.

    8. Internet scavenger hunts

      You could make this into a competition where students group up and race to see who can find the information the fastest.

    9. however, the teacher first instructs students in a whole-class setting with each person constructing his or her own text while building the online reading comprehension strategies of questioning, locating, evaluating, synthesizing, and communicating.

      This idea of reciprocal teaching is the same when you digital text. Except there are more distractions and chances of unreliability, so It is important that students first understand the importance of monitoring and fact checking.

    10. To teach students basic Web browsing techniques, we asked them to find out whether any famous people were foster children.

      This is a great way to use content to teach skills. It is a performance based formative assessment.

    11. The gradual release of responsibility to students is central to both approaches. In Internet reciprocal teaching, there are three specific phases, discussed below. When the majority of students demonstrate proficiency with the skills

      Internet reciprocal teaching is valuable, but students must understand the importance of fact checking and making sure their sites and text are reliable.

    12. By creating a curriculum that allows for problem-based inquiry learning, high-level discussion, and collaboration. One approach, Internet reciprocal teaching, involves problem-based tasks in which readers create their own text. This provides students a path for navigating the Cs of change.

      Planning to this level is not something that is done easily. Collaboration amongst team members early on is vital in implementing this new type of teaching/learning.

    13. These Cs include such skills as creativity, communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and comprehension.

      The C's are skills needed on and off line. It's not just needed for internet reading.

    14. Internet Reciprocal Teaching Promotes the Five CsCreativity: Students use divergent-thinking skills to generate their own questions and keywords for online searches. Their final projects require them to creatively express their own point of view. Communication: Students share what they learn as they work in small groups and with the whole class. They communicate with a wider audience by posting on a class blog. Collaboration: Students create collaborative knowledge through Internet inquiry and social interactions. They comment on one another's work using technologies such as VoiceThread and support one another through instant messaging. Critical Thinking: When using the Internet, students build the text they read, choosing which links to follow and which to ignore. The nonlinear nature of online reading helps support critical thinking. Students also learn to question the perspective and bias of online sources. Comprehension: Students learn important online reading skills, such as how to distinguish news articles from blog posts and editorials. They carefully read texts they encounter online to understand and evaluate different perspectives.

      These 5 C's are common in an in-person classroom, but are also important to an online learning environment as well

    15. Reciprocal teaching revolves around four global comprehension strategies: predicting, questioning, clarifying, and summarizing. The teacher explains these strategies to small groups using a shared text, first modeling their use, and then asking students to lead the groups.

      This method of teaching would be very helpful for transitioning to online learning.

    16. he most rewarding aspect of Phase 3 was the sense of agency that students expressed.

      Students should be agents of their own learning! They should feel like they are in control and that it is theirs

    17. One of the most successful methods involved taking aside students considered to be "struggling" and teaching them a strategy for evaluating a Web site or a new tool. These students could then go back to their group and teach the other members what they knew.

      Teaching "struggling" students first so that they can then go and teach the others in their group

    18. Phase 2 is a collaborative phase during which both teachers and students conduct think-aloud demonstrations and minilessons. Teacher modeling in the beginning of the phase gives way to student modeling in the latter half.

      Think alouds that start with the teacher modeling and transition to students leading the think alouds or mini lessons

    19. Phase 1: The Basics

      Teaching basic computer skills; word processing; keyword identification, searching skills

    20. the teacher first instructs students in a whole-class setting with each person constructing his or her own text while building the online reading comprehension strategies of questioning, locating, evaluating, synthesizing, and communicating.

      Internet Reciprocal Teaching, teach students individually how to read online, then allow students to work in groups so that the students can teach one another; teach those who may struggle with offline reading first

    21. Reciprocal teaching revolves around four global comprehension strategies: predicting, questioning, clarifying, and summarizing. The teacher explains these strategies to small groups using a shared text, first modeling their use, and then asking students to lead the groups.

      Reciprocal teaching process

    22. By creating a curriculum that allows for problem-based inquiry learning, high-level discussion, and collaboration. One approach, Internet reciprocal teaching, involves problem-based tasks in which readers create their own text. This provides students a path for navigating the Cs of change.

      Problem-based learning to help teach 5 C's (creativity, communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and comprehension

    23. Reciprocal teaching and Internet reciprocal teaching share core values. The gradual release of responsibility to students is central to both approaches. In Internet reciprocal teaching, there are three specific phases, discussed below. When the majority of students demonstrate proficiency with the skills taught in Phase 1, instruction moves into Phase 2, and finally into Phase 3. Group discussion and sharing of strategies are also integral to both approaches.

      I like how this paragraph tells the educator how to approach internet reciprocal teaching. Only after students show they grasp a phase of instruction does the teacher move on to the next phase.

    1. In short, online reading compre-hension is online research. Second, online reading also becomes tightly integrated with writing as we communicate with others to learn more about the questions we explore and as we communicate our own inter-pretations. A third difference is that new technologies such as browsers, search engines, wikis, blogs, e-mail, and many others are required. Addi-tional skills and strategies are needed to use each of these technologies effectively.

      Important in understanding basics of online reading comprehension

    2. Child‑Safe E‑Mail at ePals and GaggleBoth ePals (www.epals.com) and Gaggle (www.gaggle.net) provide child-safe e-mail.

      Good to know for future reference

    3. helping your weakest students become literate in a new technology first

      This is genius

    4. learning how to learn

      "Learning how to learn" reminds me of metacognition "thinking about thinking"

    5. each online tool regularly is updated; each time this happens new affordances appear, requiring addi-tional skills and strategies.

      Highlighting the importance of an adaptable curriculum and adaptable students and teachers. And resilience.

    6. Each requires additional reading and/or writing skills to take full advantage of its affordances. In addition, new tools for lit-eracy will appear on the Internet tomorrow with additional, New Litera-cies required to use them effectively.

      Things are constantly changing.

    7. Thus, when we speak of New Literacies in an online age we mean that literacy is not just “new” today; it becomes “new” every day of our lives

      The things that make up new literacies are constantly changing, just like the speed of technology

    8. Each requires additional reading and/or writing skills to take full advantage of its affordances. In addition, new tools for lit-eracy will appear on the Internet tomorrow with additional, New Litera-cies required to use them effectively.

      Each online database requires you to have separate, certain skills and they are changing rapidly

    9. Internet is also altering the nature of literacy, generating New Literacies that require additional skills and strategies. Most importantly, it is reshap-ing the nature of literacy education, providing us with many new and exciting opportunities for our classrooms.

      the internet is changing the way we learn about literacy and how we receive certain skills

    10. If you want to teach source evaluation skills, have small groups conduct research to answer a three-part problem such as this:1. How high is Mt. Fuji in feet?2. Find a different answer to this same question.3. Which answer do you trust and why do you trust it?

      Good for future lessons/activities

    11. “Healthy Skeptics”

      Love this idea of "healthy skeptics"!!!

    12. Play “One Click”

      This is a fun game!

    13. The ability to read and locate online information is a gate-keeping skill.

      I haven't ever thought about this, but people who do not have this ability are kept out of an abundance of information

    14. This is a powerful principle that positions weaker readers as experts.

      This way their self-esteem doesn't get lowered; shows how there are multiple ways of achieving

    15. Many students do not read search engine results; they simply click and look their way down each list of search results, reviewing each web page, often skipping right past a use-ful resource (Leu, Forzani, & Kennedy, 2013).

      Thinking about how Google uses Ads and Sponsors to put their websites up top, also how most people never go past the second page of search engine results

    16. . Because of this, many will ignore instruction in online reading, thinking that the CCSS only references traditional, offline read-ing comprehension. Many may also fail to integrate reading and writing instruction, an important part of any literacy program
    17. First, it appears that online reading comprehension typically takes place within a problem- solving task

      Interesting assertion...

    18. At least five processing practices occur during online research and comprehension, each requiring additional new skills and strategies when they take place online:

      5 Practices are:

      1. Identify important questions
      2. Locating information
      3. Evaluating information critically
      4. Synthesizing information
      5. Reading and writing to communicate
    19. Proficiency in these continuously new, online literacies will define our students’ success in both school and life.

      This reminds me of the video from Module 2 stating how we have to instill a mindset of change and growth into students. Just like they will change their work in order to make it the best it can be, so too can our technologies and digital media change

    20. Regularly distribute these through your school’s social net-work, e-mail, wiki, or blog, and encourage others to do the same.

      Having an online group such as a facebook group is helpful. It gives you a platform to ask for help and you get multiple viewpoints.

    21. Use tools like “Find a Classroom Match” (www.epals.com/find- classroom) to connect with classrooms around the world. Visit “Join a Project” (www.epals.com/find- project) to select a classroom learning project.

      This idea also improves cultural competency because students get a peak into what it's like outside of their bubble.

    22. Use e-mail to connect with several teachers at your grade level, possibly in different countries, and set up a weekly e-mail exchange project. Invite each participating classroom to send the other classrooms a weekly e-mail message, describing what took place in their classroom on one day.

      In the normal school hours, this was easier said than done. Weekly flyers/emails were not easy to keep on a schedule.

    23. hen you see a student use the target skill that you have embedded into the research problem, have that student explain what he or she did on the projected screen so that others can also solve the problem.

      Sneaky sneaky. Hide that skill in the task. It's like hiding your dog's medicine in a pill pocket. Haha. #itslate #imtired

    24. If laptops are closed, attention may not be substantially greater

      I found that all students wanted to do when we "crocodiled" our chromebooks (close halfway) was to open them up to get on youtube or games. It was frustrating!

    25. Twitter

      I have been slow to join Twitter. I do not like it's platform and it is very overwhelming.

    26. e want to restrict communication only to our students and to a community of peo-ple whom we can trust, such as parents and other teachers and students

      Many schools require students and parents to go through CommonSense Media before allowing a student to receive a device.

    27. Impor-tantly, they may also be used to keep parents informed about what is tak-ing place in classrooms

      This is a critical piece of the puzzles that gets lost. Parents are often not up to date and do not know how to monitor their children's use of the internet.

    28. We seek to raise a generation of students who always question the information they read for reliability and accuracy, always read to infer bias or point of view, and always check the sources they encounter while reading. The Internet demands this.

      Now the students who asked all the questions are the cool ones. Lol

    29. Here you will find lesson plans, activities to improve your own search skills, daily search challenges for your students, and training webinars for both you and your students.

      This will be helpful as I plan my units.

    30. This enables struggling readers and writers to become literate in this new technology before other, higher- performing students in reading.

      Struggling readers will develop confidence in their reading literacy is taught digital reading skills and are able to keep up with their higher level peers.

    31. A useful first step is to use online resources to teach CCSS foundational offline reading skills in PreK, kindergarten, and first grade.

      Children's brains are more maleable at the younger age. Is skills are taught early, then online literacy will be second nature at the secondary level.

    32. inferential

      Learning how to use context clues and make predictions is valuable in the real-world as well as in school. This is especially true for ELLs.

    33. Keyword entry in a search engine, for example, becomes an important new literacy skill during online reading because it is required in search engines, an important new technology for locating informa-tion.

      Searching a topic by the correct word is tricky. If you put in the wrong word, you may pull up an inappropriate site.

    34. Three changes are especially noticeable in the English language arts standards of CCSS:1. There is a greater focus on reading informational texts.2. Higher-level thinking is emphasized.3. Digital literacies are integrated throughout the English language arts standards

      Higher-level thinking is a skill that isn't acquired easily. I takes scaffolding and practice to re-mold a person's brain to think on a higher level.

    35. The new literacies of online research and comprehension frames online reading comprehension as a process of problem-based inquiry involving the skills, strategies, dispositions, and social practices that take place as we use the Internet to conduct research, solve problems, and answer ques-tions.

      Higher order skills still need to be taught and practiced even when reading is done online.

    36. Studies show that stu-dents lack critical evaluation skills when reading online (Bennet, Maton, & Kervin, 2008; Forzani & Maykel, 2013; Graham & Metaxas, 2003) and that they are not especially skilled with reading to locate information online

      Although students know how to navigate the web, they do not know how to properly synthesize information or determine whether a source is credible.

    37. Most importantly, how we adapt to a dynamic definition of literacy in the classroom will define our students’ future.

      It is inevitable that the way we evolve directly affects our students' future.

    38. We live during a time in which new technologies continuously appear online, requiring additional skills to effectively read, write, and learn, sometimes on a daily basis.

      We as educators need to constantly stay up to date on the changing technology.

    39. Finally, each online tool regularly is updated; each time this happens new affordances appear, requiring addi-tional skills and strategies. It is clear that the nature of literacy regularly and continuously changes in online spaces.

      This shows why it is important as educators to be constantly reevaluating how we teach literacy on the internet

    1. I did not know there could be such massive discrepancies in Google results based on what they "know" about you. It instantly makes me think about how divided our nation is right now, and this is a large reason why. Echo chambers.

    2. It is important when reading online not tp pn;y read sources that conform to your point of view.

    3. This is true. My mom spent about a month with me and she loves Historical dramas. Now, all I can find on Netflix and my Amazon Prime is historical drama recommendations.

    4. Oh I'm aware of this, but it is still very scary. It makes you want to go off the grid.

    5. Beware online "filter bubbles"

      Relevance of right in front of you Internet means different things to different people Algorithms edit the web based on what you have looked at in the past "There is no standard Google anymore" Personalizing news and search results to each user "The Internet is showing us what it thinks we need to see, not necessarily what we need to see" "Filter Bubble"--information you live in online, you don't decide what gets in, but you definitely don't see what gets left out Mainly looking at what you click on first Information junk food instead of information balanced diet Gatekeepers found a new way to gate keep through algorithms What does this do to democracy? What sort of internet/web ethics need to be developed to get us through to the next thing? Algorithms need to be transparent and to give us some control; need a sort of civic responsibility Internet needs to be a tool of democracy and access for ALL

    1. Students collaboratively (with the instructor) identify an area of interest and co-construct a driving question to guide inquiry. Students engage in online collaborative inquiry as they search and sift through online texts using digital tools to address their focus of inquiry. Students critically evaluate online information by considering the credibility (truthfulness) and validity (usefulness) of the information obtained. Students synthesize what they have learned during their online inquiry by actively curating and synthesizing information across multiple, multimodal sources. Student engage in online content construction by synthesizing what they have learned and selecting the best digital text or tool before sharing this answe

      This class follows this exact format. I get it now.

    2. This process involves the following five phases:

      collaboratively identify interest and a question search and sift through information critically evaluate information (credibility and usefulness) Synthesize what they have learned from multimodal sources Online content construction

    3. introduction, task, process, evaluation, and conclusion

      Parts of a WebQuest; think about how to apply this in lesson planning

    4. This process involves the following five phases: Students collaboratively (with the instructor) identify an area of interest and co-construct a driving question to guide inquiry. Students engage in online collaborative inquiry as they search and sift through online texts using digital tools to address their focus of inquiry. Students critically evaluate online information by considering the credibility (truthfulness) and validity (usefulness) of the information obtained. Students synthesize what they have learned during their online inquiry by actively curating and synthesizing information across multiple, multimodal sources. Student engage in online content construction by synthesizing what they have learned and selecting the best digital text or tool before sharing this answer.

      I love how this is broken down into steps that teachers can follow as they try to implement internet inquiry projects in their classrooms.

    1. They suggest this approach is likely to lead to greater equity, understanding, and acceptance of continuously new technologies within educational systems.

      Continuous change and the dual-level theory of New Literacies show that the success rate is higher

    2. Instead, the authors of this article, commenting on Greenhow, Robelia, and Hughes (2009), suggest that continuous, not dichotomous, change in the technologies of literacy and learning defines the Internet.

      I like the idea of continuous rather than dichotomous change in literacy online.

    1. Improved comprehension, oral language, writing, and reader self-perception. Dr. Virginia Russell (2011) of Hunter College designed a study in an urban school with ELLs who spoke 14 different languages. After just 20 days of reciprocal teaching instruction, the experimental group dramatically improved their oral language proficiency with an effect size of +1.09 and their general reading progress with an effect size of .66. Reciprocal teaching also showed statistically significant improvement in the writing proficiency of the students (Russell & McCormack, 2014).

      ELLs need to improve speaking writing, reading, and listening. Speaking and listening being super difficult because they require all brain power with no reference but sound.

    2. researchers have credited ELLs' success to reciprocal teaching instruction that utilizes students' native languages in tandem with collaborative learning opportunities with peers and cross-age tutors

      When ELs are able to use their native languages in tandem, they are able to comprehend better because the language barrier is lifted.

    3. eciprocal teaching, found that when the strategies were used with a group of students for just 15–20 days, assessments of students' reading comprehension increased from 30 percent to 70–80 percent. According to a study by Palincsar and Klenk (1991), students not only improved their comprehension skills almost immediately but also maintained their improved comprehension skills when tested a year later.

      To see that growth would make any teacher want to implement this technique in the entire school across all content levels.

    4. Reciprocal teaching fits with any grade-level lesson using fiction or informational text.

      I like this because it seems easy enough to incorporate into a curriculum and it can be tailored to any grade.

    5. Be the Teacher

      Students love acting like they run the show. It empowers them.

    6. Reciprocal teaching is a scaffolded, or supported, discussion technique that incorporates four main strategies—predicting, questioning, clarifying, summarizing—that good readers use together to comprehend text.

      This is a great way to teach ELs how to read a text and attempt to understand something higher than their proficiency level.

    1. Relevant and Authentic is a must when teaching ELs. In the ESOL world, we've named these Performance Based Assessments.

    2. Keeping Assessment Relevant and "Authentic"

      Never answer questions, why are we learning this?

      Real world applications built into learning targets

      Grades based on performance versus memorization of formulas and facts

      Authentic Assessment: measures student learning according to the application of skills during the performance of a real-world task

      Reenacting historical acts

      Let students demonstrate knowledge by doing

      1. Challenging
      2. Results in a performance or product
      3. Encourages real-world applications
      4. Self-evaluation
      5. Collaborate, discuss, and receive feedback on work

      Rubric

      I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand

    3. Keeping Assessment Relevant and "Authentic"

      Authentic Assessment: designed to hit skills and needs of population Why did we get to the right answer; what was the process? What were the steps? What are common mistakes? Take mistake and throw it back into class a few days later Give incorrect answers and have them break down the thought process Connect to real life; hands-on, experiential learning Side coaching as assessment Anticipate problems Make tasks authentic to real world tasks Process v. product Use assessment as a teaching tool!

    1. Middle School Project: Public Art

      STEAM!!!! Google Maps walking tour, kinetic sculpture to install Teacher Planning Session, connecting learning

      Existing art that students are studying in history Click on art and information they have found about it comes up Applies to real-world--their community Writing proposals for installation of their works of public art

      No "paint by numbers"

      Let students explore the process! The products will be so creative--things you have not even thought about

      "Science fair" or "expo" of ideas

      Students taking ownership of ideas

    1. Online Reading Comprehension

      Sharing what they've found with one another Students getting really excited when they've found something, want to show teacher Once students get one part, challenge them to find something new Evaluate the information; what features make it good? What is definition of best? Synthesize what you are finding; bring in all the information from different sources Multimodal ways of reading

    2. Online Reading Comprehension

      "I found it!" excitement

      Cup System--different colors mean different kinds of help are needed

    3. Online Reading Comprehension

      Put focus on learning coming from partners

    1. Open learning is becoming a critical focus for K-12 technology-supported programs, both those strictly online as well as blended classroom practices extending into online environments.

      This quote is very important as with the increase of transition to online, teachers and students should be more accustomed to online learning

    2.  Teaching, Learning, and Sharing Openly Online 

      From embedded document: Importance of digital literacy grows for ALL learners

      OER are mainly under creative common licenses and are supposed to be reused or repurposed; teacher providing lesson plans/unit plans and other teachers can see these, take ideas, and make them their own

      Leads to a sort of collaborative learning experience for teachers, changing details to make the product the best it can be, assessing authentic learning, teaching, and assessment

    1. Develop a question. Search for information. Evaluate the information. Compose an answer to your question. Share the answer with others.

      Phases of Internet Inquiry, short and to the point

    1. like giving students roles to play:

      I like this role-playing idea. Have the students take on the responsibility of being the expert

    1. Another difference from earlier models of print comprehension is the inclusion of communication within online reading comprehension. Online reading and writing are so closely connected that it is not possible to separate them; we read online as authors and we write online as readers

      Not as binary as the Web Literacy 2.0 Map makes it out to be, there are some blurred lines in there

    2. It takes an open-source approach to theory development, at the highest level, inviting everyone who studies the Internet’s impact on our literacy lives to contribute to theory development and to benefit from others’ contributions.

      All those who have access to it at least

    3. Framing Internet use as a literacy issue will also make it more likely to be embraced by schools, an institution resistant to adopting new technologies

      If this is included with literacy, schools and districts may think more about the new ways that our students are constructing learning

    4. In-school and out-of-school relationships need to be considered transactionally if we expect new technologies to be adopted in school settings.

      These authors are suggesting that Greenhow, Robelia, and Hughes look at how students' use of tech comes into the school and not how the school can influence students' use of tech?

    5. these elements permit individuals to construct new information, new knowledge, and even newer technologies. As a result, the Internet is in a continuous state of becoming, regularly transforming each one of us as we, in turn, transform it.

      The Internet is leading to daily changes of new literacies. Technologies and the skills and literacies that are needed to use those technologies are constantly changing

    6. They suggest this approach is likely to lead to greater equity, understanding, and acceptance of continuously new technologies within educational systems.

      new literacies for all

    1. In the video, lyft founder John Zimmer explains how the importance of purpose is used in lyft's model for success. The employee's use of their own cars for the ride as well as the personalized experiences between the lyft driver and the customers illustrates the purpose behind lyft's sucess. .

    1. understanding approaches to successful technology integration requires educators to develop new ways of comprehending and accommodating this complexity.

      teachers must be up to date on the new tech trends as well as student interests.

    2. As a matter of practical significance, however, most of the technologies under consideration in current literature are newer and digital and have some inherent properties that make applying them in straightforward ways difficult

      that's why it is important for teachers to always be up to date on new technologies in the classroom.

    3. The TPACK framework for teacher knowledge is described in detail, as a complex interaction among three bodies of knowledge: Content, pedagogy, and technology.

      When using these sections of knowledge you can integrate technology use into teaching.

    4. Teachers often have inadequate (or inappropriate) experience with using digital technologies for teaching and learning. Many teachers earned degrees at a time when educational technology was at a very different stage of development than it is today.

      See previous annotation.

    5. By their very nature, newer digital technologies, which are protean, unstable, and opaque, present new challenges to teachers who are struggling to use more technology in their teaching.

      Teachers tend to spend more instructional time on content they are most familiar/comfortable with. This can be problematic when it comes to newer technologies.

    6. The TPACK framework suggests that content, pedagogy, technology, and teaching/learning contexts have roles to play individually and together. Teaching successfully with technology requires continually creating, maintaining, and re-establishing a dynamic equilibrium among all components.

      Not only do we need to look at each part in isolation, but we also need to look at how all three live in constant tension or in equilibrium. What content needs to be taught? What technologies can aid that? How do I teach this content using this technology? What limitations does it present? What opportunities?

    7. Teachers need to reject functional fixedness (Duncker, 1945) and develop skills to look beyond most common uses for technologies, reconfiguring them for customized pedagogical purposes.

      I like the phrase functional fixedness. Play with something so that you can discover multiple ways of employing it

    8. An understanding of the affordances of technology and how they can be leveraged differently according to changes in context and purposes is an important part of understanding TPK.

      There is not just one way to use something.

    9. Teachers need to understand which specific technologies are best suited for addressing subject-matter learning in their domains and how the content dictates or perhaps even changes the technology—or vice versa.

      What technologies can influence theatre? Which can constrain theatre? And vice versa

    10. Fluency of Information Technology (FITness), as proposed by the Committee of Information Technology Literacy of the National Research Council (NRC, 1999)

      Look this up.

    11. this transformation occurs as the teacher interprets the subject matter, finds multiple ways to represent it, and adapts and tailors the instructional materials to alternative conceptions and students’ prior knowledge

      We have to teach content in different ways depending on the content and the students

    12. Digital technologies—such as computers, handheld devices, and software applications—by contrast, are protean (usable in many different ways; Papert, 1980); unstable (rapidly changing); and opaque (the inner workings are hidden from users; Turkle, 1995)

      Why it may be a little intimidating to use technology especially in the classroom, not sure how it works/how to keep users safe (especially if those users are children)

    13. Also complicating teaching with technology is an understanding that technologies are neither neutral nor unbiased. Rather, particular technologies have their own propensities, potentials, affordances, and constraints that make them more suitable for certain tasks than others

      This quote that all pieces of technology are important based on their differing uses. Some could be used to record something, and others can be used to create a paper or presentation.

    14. The TPACK framework for teacher knowledge is described in detail, as a complex interaction among three bodies of knowledge: Content, pedagogy, and technology.

      Most teachers know their content well and the basic tenets of pedagogy don't change too much during the career of a teacher. What does change, and changes quickly, is the technology available to teachers that will allow for maximum student engagement and learning outcomes. In order for a teacher to remain in the center of the TPACK graphic, he/she must stay on the forefront of said technology.

    1. a supportive community on Wattpad, an online publishing app. She begins writing her own fanfiction on there, gaining a following and confidence.

      Common interests motivated her to want to build relationships with others in order to gain opportunities later on.

    2. Connected learning does not rely on a single technology or technique. Rather, it is fostered over time through a combination of supports for developing interests, relationships, skills, and a sense of purpose.

      With this we can see that the importance of Connected Learning in that it uses many different skills to combine interests, relationships, and opportunities.

    3. Connected learning combines personal interests, supportive relationships, and opportunities. It is learning in an age of abundant access to information and social connection that embraces the diverse backgrounds and interests of all young people.

      This is great way to approach learning in order to enhance student engagement. If innate student interests are taken into account, their desire to learn about something or to develop a new skill will be promoted.

    4. Programs and organizations designed around connected learning are serving young people around the country and world.

      This has allowed people to revolutionize how they communicate

    5. Connections Across Settings

      As connected learners develop, they access varied programs, communities and opportunities. In order to support diverse learner pathways, organizations and caring adults can form partnerships, broker connections across settings, and share on openly networked platforms and portfolios.

    1. the most resilient, adaptive, and effective learning involves individual interest as well as social support to overcome adversity and provide recognition.

      Interest in the subject provides purpose to want to succeed.

    2. Connected learning is realized when a young person is able to pursue a personal interest or passion with the support of friends and caring adults, and is in turn able to link this learning and interest to academic achievement, career success or civic engagement

      this is greatly connected to the RSA Animate video on what motivates us. Working together can help us find the purpose in what we are doing in the class.

    3. Although connected learning can apply to any age group, we focus here on adoles-cents and, secondarily, on young adults.

      That is clear. Would love to see some examples of early childhood connected learning scenarios.

    4. These spaces are not confined to online worlds.

      Correct.

    5. Without this focus on equity and collective outcomes, any educa-tional approach or technical capacity risks becoming yet another way to reinforce the advantage that privileged individuals already have.

      We have seen this with the COVID school closures, and students not having the same access to technology at home. Certain groups of students have fallen even further behind.

    6. the online world opened up a new site for learning and specialization.

      This underscores the need for community and how online communities have become so important in this era.

    7. The commission has argued for school reforms that include a European-style system of career-oriented tracks, which ends the public commitment to schooling at Grade 10 and then tracks students into either college-level classes or vocational education.

      If this happens, do the liberal arts go by the way-side? I think that is unfortunate as I believe liberal arts education allows people to explore their interests but also allows them to see how different fields interact with one another. Nothing survives in isolation.

    8. A strong current in the workforce readiness view holds that “creative work” is where the security will be, and that the current education system must produce students who are capable of the critical and creative thinking skills

      How do we teach critical and creative thinking skills if this is the wave of future job creation?

    9. raditional pathways through schooling toward stable careers are an option for fewer young people; in their current form, schools can only deliver opportunity to a shrinking proportion of youth.

      New jobs are being created; we may be preparing students for jobs that don't even exist yet

    10. In the past two decades, earnings have dropped for those without high school degrees, while dropout rates have continued to remain high among vulnerable populations. At the same time, privileged families are turning to costly private schools and enrichment activities for an educa-tional edge, preparing their children for a competitive and volatile market for profes-sional and fulfilling jobs.

      Education as a private good; social mobility rather than democratic equality or social efficiency

    11. Expanding diversity and building capacity

      What about youth in reduced economic circumstances? What if they do not have access to this new media? Is this bridging a gap, or just creating a new one?

    12. opportunities for mastery of specialist language and practices.

      Opportunities for mastery in a safe, non-graded space

    13. xperiences invite participation and provide many different ways for individuals and groups to contribute.

      Participatory: web literacy

    14. We also see adolescence and early adulthood as periods when young people establish an orientation to schooling and learning that can carry into adulthood, and begin to make decisions that will lead them to certain job and career opportunities.

      Allowing students to explore there own interests especially in middle and high school can help support their identity as a learner

    15. Digital and net-worked media offer new ways of expanding the reach and accessibility of connected learning so it is not just privileged youth who have these opportunities.

      So many online communities to choose from, but as of yet do not discuss the safety/privacy/security of connecting with these online communities

    16. learning that is socially embedded, interest-driven, and oriented toward educational, economic, or political opportunity.

      Definition of connected learning

    17. Clarissa

      Clarissa's interest in fan fiction led to her joining a supportive online community where they participated in editing and revising (changing to make better versions of writers) and gave her the opportunity to get accepted to Chapman and Emerson

    18. evidenc

      What is the evidence of this "most resilient, adaptive, and effective learning?

    19. socially embedded, interest-driven, and oriented toward educational, economic, or political opportunity

      interest, supportive relationships, and opportunity

    1. The SAMR model truly covers the entire spectrum of tech integration. Every lesson, activity and designer has an entry point and those at the highest levels can be continually challenged to redefine learning.

      As teachers gain knowledge, their experiences with tech integration will improve.

    2. Substitution The SAMR Ladder: Questions and Transitions What will I gain by replacing the older technology with the new technology?AugmentationThe SAMR Ladder: Questions and Transitions Substitution to AugmentationHave I added an improvement to the task process that could not be accomplished with the older technology at a fundamental level?How does this feature contribute to my design?ModificationThe SAMR Ladder: Questions and Transitions Augmentation to ModificationHow is the original task being modified?Does this modification fundamentally depend upon the new technology?How does this modification contribute to my design?RedefinitionThe SAMR Ladder: Questions and Transitions Modification to RedefinitionWhat is the new task?Will any portion of the original task be retained?How is the new task uniquely made possible by the new technology?How does it contribute to my design?

      108 names of the constitution

    3. The key to successful technology integration is the efficient use of digital tools tools that are appropriate for the task.  Technology provides us all with the ability to develop our own toolkit of flexible resources for use when needed.
    4. The SAMR model  is a useful tool for helping teachers think about their own tech use as they begin to make small shifts in the design and implementation of  technology driven learning experiences to achieve the next level.  Dr. Puentedura has included Questions and Transitions Ladders  with the SAMR model to help teachers make transitions to each level.  Teachers in the substitution and augmentation phase can use technology to accomplish traditional tasks,  but the real learning gains result from engaging students in learning experiences that could not be accomplished without technology.
    5.  SAMR is a model of tech integration designed by Dr. Ruben R. Puentedura, Ph.D. that is simple, easy to gauge, and offers all educators something to strive for.

      SAMR allows for teaching education while getting feedback how well it is being taught

    6. Apple’s use of the SAMR model as a framework for tech integration presents a consistent, clear and powerful message that is spreading!

      SAMR allows teachers to provide a new way of sharing their message

    7. but the real learning gains result from engaging students in learning experiences that could not be accomplished without technology.

      This seems a little biased to me. What real learning are we talking about here? Real learning as it comes to technology, yes I agree. Real learning in general? Not sure if I agree there or not.

    8. Apple’s consistent use of the SAMR model as a framework for technology implementation because the clear and consistent message serves as a reminder to teachers about the expectation for each of us to achieve what we cannot achieve without new technology.

      This quote rings true as in most high schools, Apple seems to be the preferred product due to their accessibility and their use of the SAMR model as it includes Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition.

    9. Teachers in the substitution and augmentation phase can use technology to accomplish traditional tasks,  but the real learning gains result from engaging students in learning experiences that could not be accomplished without technology. At the Modification and Redefinition level, the task changes and extends the walls of the classroom.

      I have seen first hand how tech can enhance student learning at the modification and redefinition levels. For instance, I have been teaching about the physiology of heart contractions on A&P for years. However in a new class that I picked up called Principles of Biomedical Science, I have access to electrodes and software that will allow the students to record their own EKG. They can then exercise and compare their readouts with their EKG at rest or with those of other students. They can then evaluate the data for trends and link that to physiological processes. I see much more engagement and more solid learning outcomes as a result!

    1. Working together motivates students purpose to want to succeed.

    2. Encouraging students to reach out to one another to solve problems not only builds collaboration skills but leads to deeper learning and understanding.

      Students can work together to figure out a problem they are facing

    3. Encouraging students to reach out to one another to solve problems not only builds collaboration skills but leads to deeper learning and understanding.

      Students can teach one another--assessment of understanding Asking each other questions before asking the teacher

      Group work empowers a student's cultivation of resilience

      Creates habits of mind

      Going over homework in groups, if no resolution to a problem, talk about it as a class, asking groupmates to help (and they are helpful--how do you inspire helpful intentions?)

      Classwork harder than homework--need to talk to one another to solve problems

      Talk about problems before taking pencil to paper

      Can you see one another; check ego at door; be willing to take risks; throw out ideas even if not fully formed, others can add to it

      Different roles to fill: discussion: scribe, mapper, moderator

      How did you do? Encourage quieter students to engage, have peers help them out somehow

      Respect individual, celebrate small victories

    1. Moving from the teacher focused feedback to learner led improves a student's presentation viewpoint and gives the learner a way to see their errors and figure out ways to grow.

    2. It wasthrough performing the task themselvesfirst, and subsequently evaluating peer workagainst the set of criteria already learned, that made them assess their own workmore critically and professionally, which eventually contributed to the improvementof learners’own work.

      Providing feedback on others once you have done the activity increases one's own performance.

    Tags

    Annotators

    1. When observing students interactingwith text resulting from an Internetsearch, Sutherland-Smith (2002) report-ed that they “perceive Web text readingas different from print text reading” (p.664). Within Internet environments,many readers are easily frustrated whennot instantly gratified in their rapidsearch for immediate answers and mayadopt a “snatch and grab philoso-phy...not apparent in print text environ-ments” (p. 664). Similarly, Eagleton(2001) observed middle school studentswith little experience with Internet in-quiry often making “hasty, randomchoices with little thought and evalua-tion” (p. 3). These shallow, random, andoften passive interactions with text arein direct contrast to the active, strate-gic, and critical processes of construct-ing meaning now being proposed byinstructional leaders and supported by25 years of reading research (Allington,2001; Keene & Zimmermann, 1997;Robb, 2000).

      It is interesting to note that the "instant gratification" mindset that most young people have when searching online is counter-productive to teaching how to construct meaning from what is read. This is why it is important to teach the skills necessary to be proficient online readers.

    1. Purpose incentive-ride sharing, zoom, google etc.

    2. Autonomy, mastery, and purpose are key indicators of motivation. This seems important to me as a future middle grades educator because teenagers are about finding themselves.

    3. The surprising truth about what motivates us

      MIT Study Mechanical skills: larger reward leads to better performance Cognitive skills: larger reward leads to poorer performance

      Pay people enough to not think about money, it is no longer a factor

      Autonomy/Mastery/Self-Actualization If want engagement, self-direction is better Atlassian, work on whatever you want for 24 hours Allow learners to guide their own learning

      Mastery--we want to get better at stuff because it's satisfying; people have jobs, and for free people do lots of hard work; challenge, mastery and making a contribution: purpose motive

      We are purpose motivated and want to be self-directed

    1. edmodo is a good example of TPACK-I have used it before. As well as movie maker.

    2. TPACK Example

      Video game programming in elementary school? amazing Combing pedagogy, content, and technology EdModo Making a movie as a project Content Area Lesson, research problem on sites provided Technology Knowledge

    1. This model heavily reflects my ideas for my Unit Plan.

    2. How do you ensure that students could still properly comprehend information under the SAMR model, particular in relation to literacy.

    3. SAMR in 120 Seconds

      Substitution: new tech replaces old tech Augmentation: sharing Google doc and saving to cloud; increased functionality

      Modification: tech redesigns part of task; collaborate on Google doc Redefinition: design and create new tasks; connecting to classroom across world through Google Doc, talking about differences in history from different parts of world, using voice recording to discuss differences they noticed

  2. www.pblworks.org www.pblworks.org
    1. Students work on a project over an extended period of time – from a week up to a semester – that engages them in solving a real-world problem or answering a complex question. They demonstrate their knowledge and skills by creating a public product or presentation for a real audience.

      This type of learning should be the only type of learning we have in our schools today. The lecture and factual method of learning is out dated and irrelevant.

    1. Students are always willing to work hard for a teacher that is reciprocating that hard work.

      Students appreciate when teachers are real and show that they too are human. They are motivated when they see we are alongside them learning as well.

    2. One of the most powerful elements of feedback for our learners is to praise them for their efforts and hard work

      If you put a person down and tell them they are not worthy, they will believe this about themselves. It can be disastrous.Speak life into someone and you shall see life.

    1. Students do not need a curriculum to learn. They need a passion. Today with internet, it is easy to connect with others that share the same passion. As students join groups and communicate with others with similarities, learning takes place naturally.

    2. Motivating Learners

      Trajectory vs. fixed point Idea of play, how do we play with current knowledge/tech? Learners look at how can change what they are doing in order to make it better, constantly looking at change and able to embrace change Find communities of doers in what you are interested in Teach how to join Tinkering brings thought and action together

    1. “tweet seats”

      The idea of having a seat for cell phone use?

    2. Seen in this context, on-stage special effects seem lame.

      The realism and spectacles of movies cannot be matched with the limitations of live theatre.

    3. Instead of viewing plays as individual texts to be studied and examined, theatre knowledge building invites teachers and students to examine the work together, to question why the play was written, to understand the relationship between form and content, to see how the play fits within theatre history and the work of the playwright, and to ask how the play has been performed and what challenges it presents to other theatre workers.

      Make it an open-ended question that leads to conversation between students

    4. he students described themselves as living digitally saturated lives in which multi-tasking is the norm.

      I am guilty of this. I find it hard to just sit and do one thing like watch Netflix, instead I'm watching Netflix while texting or surfing the web

    5. Productions from cutting edge companies such as the UK’s Blast Theory fuse theatre with video games, or movies, or else turn an entire city into a kind of stage in which performers and audience members meet in person or virtually

      Interesting form of theatre, especially now in a time where people cannot gather in large groups, can space out through a city

    6. Others interpret the influence of new technology in theatre as a creative response to the realities of our digital world, with multimedia theatre reflecting back to the audience in provocative ways the hybrid state of human beings and technology

      What are some examples of this?

    7. two-way cultural conversations within a “networked public”

      Two-way communications, not just one way

    8. The paper proposes that, by focusing upon collaborative, inquiry-based approaches supported by Web 2.0 technology, educators can create authentic, theatre knowledge-building communities, causing students to view themselves as participants in the culture of live theatre while learning valuable 21st century skills.

      A way to keep theatre alive in the new age?

    1. As forms of entertainment continue to evolve, the want for live theater has been replaced with advanced gaming systems, movies and television series.

      One reason younger people are not going to the theatre.

    1. Engaging students in a three-month long project where they create their own short plays with the guidance of a workingplaywright, this festival not only allows students from St. Sylvester to explore playwriting, but to do so in collaboration with another class at a nearby Member School, St. Henry.

      Way to collaborate with places outside of the school

    2. Research clearly and consistently shows that when students are engaged in their learning, they are more likely to remember what they learn and will work to continue to learn independently (Bruner, 1961), moving “toward the always shifting end/goal of learning more” (Dewey, 1938, p. 34)

      Goal should be to learn more! Do this by engaging student interest

    3. For example, in November 2014, the Grade 3/4 class at at St. Sylvester participated in a learning project devoted to set and costume design in connection with the theatre’s production of James and the Giant Peach

      Teaching design to students, can this be a collaborative project with people from multiple locations?

    4. Q&As to delving into in-depth research projects about the process of play creation, production and design

      This could be a fun and enriching experience to do with theatre students

    1. Sometimes all we want is the plain cup of coffee, and sometimes we want that Starbucks-only pumpkin spice latte.

      Important to note, not everything needs to be redefined, that's a lot of pressure and a lot of work Need to also gear this towards how each students learns individually

    2. Modification involves changing the task, and personalizing the project.

      Instead of just substituting a handwritten essay for a typed one on Google Docs, students are able to talk to each other about the essay and discuss improvements/advancements to the essay. Is this just a substitution for peer reviewed handwritten work though?

    3. At the substitution level, you are substituting a cup of coffee that we could make at home or school with a cup of coffee from Starbucks. It’s still coffee: there’s no real change.

      Love this example with one of my favorite things: coffee! Having these examples are very helpful to me, this article not only provides examples, though, it explains why they are examples of each

    4. The SAMR model allows you the opportunity to evaluate why you are using a specific technology, design tasks that enable higher-order thinking skills, and engage students in rich learning experiences.

      Clearly stated purpose of the SAMR model!

    5. This was extremely overwhelming, difficult to manage, and eventually, a turn-off for teachers.

      Better to have a streamlined system rather than overwhelm with an abundance of apps?

    6. 4C’s

      critical thinking, collaboration, communication, creativity

    1. are grouped intentionally to provide a mix of skill levels,

      Zone of Proximal Development -Vygotsky; by mixing skill levels, students at a lower skill will learn from those at a higher skill; those at a higher skill will better understand the process/concept by helping teach those at lower skills

    2. Students quickly realize that they are able to solve problems as a group that they would not be able to solve as individuals.

      In the career world, you will most likely have a community of people you can bounce ideas off of in order to come up with solutions to problems, so why not have this model in schools where we are teaching students skills that can be used in their careers?

    3. teachers must be willing to “cede the floor” to the students.

      Allow students to drive the car, if you will. Be a passenger to offers guidance every once in a while

    4. Often, teachers give students group tests, which, like the class worksheets, are designed to be harder than the individual assignments. Students quickly realize that they are able to solve problems as a group that they would not be able to solve as individuals.

      This is soft skill development at its core. In the age where anything can be Googled, memorizing rote knowledge is not a desirable outcome for education. Employers are looking for people who can work well in groups and who can problem solve. These are skills that are taught by practicing working in groups and by solving problems over the course of many years. By embracing collaborative learning, teachers will endow their students with the types of skills that will allow them to get good jobs in the future.

    1. Critical Thinking:

      Useful resource to have; skills that make up critical thinking along with subskills

    2. Defining Formative Assessment

      Yes! Formative assessment should not just be for grade's sake, but as an actual way to gauge student understanding and then to assess the next steps to take to get students to where you want them to be

    3. The SAMR Ladder:Questions and Transitions

      Helpful resource here

    1. Those are important steps, especially when teaching online for the first time, but in classrooms where tech integration has moved to the mastery level, the last two levels of the SAMR model—modification and redefinition—should also be in the mix. Students in classes where this kind of mastery is embedded find more novel and immersive uses for technology. They are creators and publishers of their own work across multiple forms of media, for example, or they are inviting professionals to provide feedback on their work products, or participating in digital forums with other peers around the world.

      This is where the rubber meets the road with SAMR. These methods will serve to teach our students the soft skills they need for the future!

    2. The SAMR model lays out four tiers of online learning, presented roughly in order of their sophistication and transformative power: substitution, augmentation, modification, and redefinition. When switching to an online format, teachers often focus on the first two levels, which involve replacing traditional materials with digital ones: converting lessons and worksheets into PDFs and posting them online, or recording lectures on video and making them available for asynchronous learning, for example. 

      I definitely had a focus on the first two levels of the SAMR model as my school transitioned to online instruction due to the coronavirus. Now it is time to shift my focus to the next two levels as I try and incorporate tech in a way that redefines what my students learn.

    1. After walking through the different parts of a cell’s anatomy, break your students into small groups and have them collaborate on completing a Check for Understanding quiz via your LMS. Include an interactive question that provides a diagram of a cell with blank labels and requires students to drag and drop the proper labels in place from an answer key (in Schoology’s LMS it’s called a “Label Image” question). Give each group a device with recording capabilities. Have each member of the group choose an organelle to personify, and have them record each other explaining who they are (or which organelle they are) and why they are important for the cell. Finally, have them upload their videos to a media album so your students can watch each other’s videos on their own time and leave comments. Instead of researching a cell process (e.g., cell respiration, energy production, etc.) in one type of cell, have your students compare the process between animal and plant cells and make conclusions regarding the differences they find. Require each group to construct an artifact of their research by creating a one-page brief in Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive, a flowchart comparison, or a video explanation. This can be turned in via an assignment in your LMS for credit. Armed with their knowledge of cell anatomy, function, and processes, have your students analyze the connections between different animals and plants in their natural habitats. Have each group infer what might happen when one animal or plant is placed in a habitat other than it's natural one. Each group should compile evidence to make their case (articles, videos, etc.) using Padlet, Evernote, or other similar tool. 

      These enhancements are not too difficult to wrap one's head around and begin to apply to other lessons. The student engagement and learning outcomes would be greatly increased by embracing such changes.

    1. “connected learning.” It advocates for broadened access to learning that is socially embedded, interest-driven, and oriented toward educational, economic, or political opportunity. Connected learning is realized when a young person is able to pursue a personal interest or passion with the support of friends and caring adults, and is in turn able to link this learning and interest to academic achievement, career success or civic engagement.

      The lack of an intrinsic motivation to learn is an all-too-common condition of many students today. Unfortunately, it is best indicator of who will be successful in academia. By embracing "connected learning" and trying to utilize individual student interests during teaching, educators may be able to increase that intrinsic motivation and thus increase academic success.

    1. Will Richardson

      Life prep, not test prep! Play to students' interests and allow their curiosity and questions guide their learning